Projection lets hostile impulses be both safely vented and morally justified at once.
Evidence
Direct projection helps resolve the problem because the unacceptable impulses can be attributed to a scapegoat (they are the ones who are sexually depraved). The aggressive im pulses arising from her inner conflict not only can be safely displaced onto the scapegoat but also can be rationalized as stemming from the scapegoat’s repulsive characteristics. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 750
Categorization
- SEED: Essay angle: moral outrage as retrofitted permission slip for pre-existing aggression — the emotional alibi.
- XREF: connects to: Projection both enables and rationalizes the direct expression of repressed impulses — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 552; Projection converts taboo inner impulses into perceived external enemies — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 152; Projection functions to justify aggression against minorities who are believed equally aggressive — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 549
Broader Connections
- Projection both enables and rationalizes the direct expression of repressed impulses
#corroborates(0.95) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 552 - Projection functions to justify aggression against minorities who are believed equally aggressive
#exemplifies(0.85) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 549 - Projection converts taboo inner impulses into perceived external enemies
#expands(0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 152